


Earthbound: Subject 8247

by DistantCrossing



Category: EarthBound, Mother 1 | EarthBound Zero | EarthBound Beginnings, Mother 3, mother 2
Genre: Action, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Broken time line, Controlling, Denial of Feelings, Depression, Earthbound - Freeform, Earthbound AU, Eventual Romance, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Manipulation, Memory Loss, Mother 1 | EarthBound Zero | EarthBound Beginnings References, Multi, Ness - Freeform, Ness/Paula (Mother 2) - Freeform, Ninten - Freeform, Ninten Ness and Lucas are related, Nintendo - Freeform, PTSD, Porky - Freeform, Porky minch is evil, Possessive Behavior, Romance, Self Confidence Issues, Self Loathing, Slow Burn, Third Person Limited, Time Travel, Timelines, Videogames, bad guy already won, bad guy wins, crossovers, dark themes, generations, good guys are desperate, hopelessness, low selfesteem, paula/ness fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29661696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DistantCrossing/pseuds/DistantCrossing
Summary: From a Loyal Scientist:He should be glad that Master Porky rescued him.He was captured by the famous Porky Minch who runs the government in New Pork City. From the lovely town of Onett that was obliterated by Starman. He is now brainwashed by our master, working as a servant with no life of his own.However, there's something strange about this kid.He seems more aware than the other test subjects in the lab. He questions his position and has the balls to stand up to the man upstairs. They seem to have a history, and the boss calls Ness a favorite. He gets more food than the other freaks in this building and actually has a place to sleep, as if Master Porky wants him alive. He is treated like a possession, a trophy, more so than a test subject.And it's creepy.Nevertheless, it is my job to run experiments on him. It is my job to train and harvest his PSI. The Master is after everyone who is a good candidate for PSI, and will stop at nothing until he has it all.The Master is power hungry, and has a thirst for revenge, and the craziest thing about all of this, is that Ness Franklyn is aware of it.Things are about to get... interesting.
Relationships: Paula Jones/Ness
Kudos: 2





	1. A Game of Cat and Mouse

**Author's Note:**

> One day I said to myself, what if Porky Minch had one and treated everyone like test subjects?  
> and this AU was born. Some hints to the original cannon, but this is a dystopian future so it may not be recognizable.  
> And this chapter is short, less than 1500 words, but all this really did was set the stage. Thinks pick up quickly after chapter 2.

Things felt fuzzy.

The ambiance of the city had woken a confused Ness as flashing orange and white lights bounced along a thick metallic wall. The earth appeared to move as his senses began to spring alive, his eyes as well adjusting to the darkness. There was not a single hint present on where he could be, nor of where he was going. All he had was a persistent throbbing pain in the back of his head, a sticky fluid seeping from hist temple as his body rested on a cold stone floor. A pungent smell hung in the air, forcing Ness to cough. He was inside a moving fan, traveling at high speeds on a highway to New Pork City.

As his strength returned to the rest of his limbs, Ness attempted to sit up in the fast-moving vehicle. He looked at his wrist only to see a metal binding and the rattling chains quickly followed suit. His reaction was almost casual, perhaps too casual, so casual that Ness had surprised himself. Memories came flooding towards him, and sense he knew better, memories he knew he was not going to keep either way. This was routine, a game of cat and mouse. This was a game that he and his capture knew damn well, almost to an art form. As a result, Ness knew every escape route, even attempting an escape was not as traumatizing as it used to be and the consequences were almost laughable, of the ones he could remember at least.

The moving van came to a halt, and Ness heard muffled footsteps from the outside. Pig Masks, most definitely, we're ready to return lost inventory. Ness tried to search for any psychic energy he had left, perhaps he played a little too hard in the field today. He shrugged, not out of fear but disappointed he couldn't troll Porky any future. He was tired, and pushing himself further was almost pointless, for he'd rather be alert that knocked out cold, giving Porky free reign to do what ever the hell he wanted.

The two double doors of the van open wide after several minutes had passed. Familiar Pig Masks gathered around him, adorned in either red or green depending on the rank. For as long as he had been here, Ness couldn't understand the difference between two. As far as he was aware, they were all idiots scrambling to catch a scrawny thirteen-year-old who hadn't seen the sun in god knows how long.

"Subject 8277," said the man, grabbing Ness by the chains. "You have the right to remain silent in front of our master. Anything you say or do will result in harsh punishment."

Ness had to hold back his tongue to not let out a laugh, he did not fear Porky Minch but at the same time he was not an idiot. Talking back, something he was infamous for doing, would have earned a tase. However, he did silently curse for recycling to heavily on his psychic attacks, otherwise he would have bit back.

The master's office was just a short trip down the hall, on the one hundredth floor New Pork City, Ness hated that title. The State Building was in the heart, where he "lived". It might as well be his home. Ness "grew up" here. He couldn't recall a life before this. Truth be told, Ness has never stepped foot outside the city limits. He could only dream of reaching that far. But the building, as said as it was, was all he knew. Ness met his master face to face outside the wall, in chains, torn clothing, bruised and battered and held down by white coats. He was an adult but looked like a pig that was stuffed un a bright pink, vibrant suit. Blond hair could lose a few pounds.

He wore a haunting, mocking smile, his fat fingers folded together Porky Minch, the owner of this entire building.

"So, escape attempt number seven, eh Ness?" Porky said all too casually.

Ness stayed silent; he knew he had the upper ground if he did not give into the taunts. As a matter of fact, it wasn't worth it to retort, he could read minds perfectly fine. Porky's thoughts were nonexistent, or Ness really had run out of energy to even decipher what his capture was thinking.

"Cat got your tongue?" said Master Porky. "What Ness? No witty remark? No back talks?"

He really had nothing to say on the matter, this was simply a motif. However, Ness couldn't ignore the aurora he could sense within the room, and a sense of dread settled in his stomach. Porky's smile was enough to tell Ness that a look of fear had spread across his face.

"Did you, kill someone?" Ness asked, trying hard not to make it show but it was simply too late. Porky had Ness right had wanted him, finally a crack in the shell.

"You should know," Porky replied with snark. "I am surprised that it took you this long to figure things out, you're usually quick to my dismay. Has my team worn you out this much?"

Ness suddenly found it difficult to breath as memories of the escape had rushed toward him. It made sense, the blood from his forehead, he had been hit. As a result, his mind had not full recovered and his psychic abilities had become temporarily damaged. No one wonder he could not read the minds of the pig masks or even Porky Minch's moments before, why he felt nauseous or why some of his vision was blurrier than usual. He took notice of the tone switch from Porky, from mocking to studious as he noticed the symptoms before him.

"This alone is enough to tell me that the mind is really important for PSI," said Porky taking a small light from his desk and flashing it in Ness's eye, which was slow to retract. Instinctively Ness took a few steps back but fell over as the world became dizzy around him. Porky laughed at this.

He was correct, well partially correct. PSI had an emphasis on the mind, but where it really stirred was the soul, something that couldn't be touched or reached. It spooked Ness on how dangerously accurate he was, the image of him poking around in his brain was enough to make his stomach churn, the devilish grin that grew on Porky's face was not helping.

"I wonder if I can monitor activity while your PSI is in use during training sessions," Porky spoke, "Not only this would help me collect more data but track you down if you manage to run away, I'm tired of loosing my men to your antics."

Ness's face went pale.

"Oh, don't worry, this would be a simple procedure," said the false scientist. "It would be foolish of me to lose our most valuable test subject; we've made the most progress with you. Credit's where credits due, I haven't been able to find another freak with this much power."

Now ness wanted to retort, but he was too weak to fight back. Here he was, on the floor, vision blurry and ready to blow at any moment. Attempting to read Porky's mind was enough to start a blaring migraine. For once he wanted to lay in the raggedy old caught waiting for him in his dorm.

"Oh, quick apologies for deflecting," said Porky once again monologuing to himself. "Yes, I did take a life but not because I wanted to. At first, I thought we had found another one of your type, but I was mistaken. They had seen too much and the last thing I wanted was the secrets to my lab exposed. You know, the usual."

This angered Ness with whatever energy he had left. He wanted to tell Porky to just shut up so he could pass out right then and there. It was also at that moment he wished he had enough energy left to summon at least a basic spell to cause him some harm.

"So much easier to talk to you when you're pretty much unresponsive," said Porky with a dark laugh. "Your taunts, honestly, piss me off."

At this point Ness had given up on even trying to stay alert but allowed his senses to shut down one by one. It was muffled, but Porky had confirmed they wouldn't be returning to the lab but going on with the procedure he alluded to.

But even in that unconscious state, Ness had knew, he had already won.


	2. Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello, this chapter's a little longer! I'm liking this draft a lot better. If the story feels like it doesn't have focus, that's almost the point. I am writing from a perspective where the bad guy wins, now the heroes have to climb out of that hell hole and start a new.  
> enjoy!

Ness couldn’t actually tell where he was when he had awoken, but at least this time it was familiar. It took him a while, but he could tell he was in his dorm room, one that had very little light. Not as dark as the moving truck, thanks to his door that was slightly propped open; he could tell that someone had just left, foolish enough to leave the door unlocked. Shifting his head he could tell it was not left unattended, of course Porky was not a complete idiot. It was not a pig mask however, Ness caught a glimpse of a white coat peeping through the cracked door. This was rare, one of the scientists?

That wasn’t good.

It took a special kind of person to work for the pig that lived up stairs. Ness caught whiff of a rumor that PSI was eligible to study, something that people could pursue as a career. Most of those scientists wound up here, the only place where people with psychic abilities were known to be… as far as he could tell. Ness wasn’t the only child here; in fact this building had several test subjects on several floors. He had only met a handful of them, and those meetings had proven to be a once and never again. Even worse, none of them had a trace of psychic energy within them. All of them were his age, scientists disposed of them like they were nothing.

Ness was a special case.

His psychic ability was incredibly strong, but limited. Ness couldn’t quite remember what he was capable of, and it seemed only a select abilities stayed with him; mind reading being the most prevalent. The next being quick reflexes, and predicting future events and the third was sensing the energy that lingered. Ness had to assume these were the basics, otherwise he was sure these would have been forgotten as well. If it was not for these, attempting escapes would not have been possible. 

Ness tried to sit up in his caught, but immediately felt nausea upon doing so. The back of his head felt absolutely numb. He raised a head and felt thick bandages wrapping his skull. Whatever had been done, had been done not too long ago. Ness sat upward, leaning against his pillow so he wouldn’t dry heath all over the sheets, the last time he ate was  _ when?  _ He had also noticed that he wasn’t in typical clothing, but a typical hospital gown, which was enough to tell him an experiment went on without his knowing or permission. 

As he grew comfortable within the silence and his current state, a painful tingle transferred through his skull and his spine, the pain was so abundant he had to let out a loud grunt the scientists could definitely hear. The grunt turned into a muffled scream as the main increased, however through the haze it did not take long for Ness to discover what was happening. Just outside his dorm room he could sense large amounts of psychic energy, no doubt about it. Which was strange, sensing it has never been painful, it tingled yes but it never burned through him. He couldn’t see who it was, but the most Ness could do was wait it out, keeping his grunts to himself so he wouldn’t give the person away. 

“Put this one in the next room,” said the scientist, who was probably talking to a Pig Mask. “I’ll get to her next, The Master’s orders.”

Fantastic. Ness wondered if this was on purpose, whatever was inside his skull made his natural abilities worse. He was certain Porky went on with that procedure, whatever it was. It definitely was a tracker, a way for Porky to use his natural abilities against him. It was not long until the psychic energy faded, in return easing the pain Ness had felt. Soft footsteps scuffled across the concrete floor as light poured in from the hallway. The scientist was someone Ness could not recognize, but he did not expect to anyway, the lab always had new faces, at least to his knowledge.

“8277, good evening, I see you’re comfortable,” said the scientist, whose decorum completely threw Ness off. “The master wants to see you for training, get dressed and I’ll escort you there.”

Ness arched a brow, training? In this condition? Doesn’t Porky want the best test results? It seemed that data was going to be collected no matter what condition the “subject” was in. His head still ached from earlier, but because he had rested, some of his psychic will power had returned for the time being. He knew of this because the tingle in his fingers. It was also noteworthy that training wasn’t really training. Porky did not know the first thing about having psychic abilities and most of what he did know was off. What it mostly did was test endurance, actual spells weren’t utilized. He wondered how much that would change with the person in the other room, Ness could tell his abilities matched her own, if not more so.

Without anymore to say the scientist had left the room, giving Ness the space to get dressed, which had been proven difficult. He climbed out of the cot and nearly collapsed, but he pressed through not wanting to deal with any consequences or punishments at the moment. He walked over to his dresser, which was worn, and pulled out whatever clothing had been left behind. The outfits were simple, a solid colored t-shirt and some shorts. No shoes or socks though, however he was used to going in bare foot. 

Ness also noted how obedient he was being at the moment, no back talk or defiance in sight, hadn’t even opened his mouth for a witty response. Perhaps the cat truly did have his tongue this time around, or he knew the stars weren’t in his favor at the moment. No, he knew they weren’t. Pissing off Porky wasn’t the wizest idea, Ness could sense he had something under his thumb. He tried to read the scientist's thoughts in order to see if anything was present, something relevant. To Ness’s surprise, he could sense... regret?

“You hate working here, don’t you?” Ness spoke for probably the first time since he had been brought back. The scientist narrowed his eyes at the question, as if this was weird set up, a trap for an escape. 

“Did anyone tell you it’s rude to surfe someone’s thoughts unannounced?” said the scientist who now turned his head forward and kept moving, not paying Ness any attention.

“Can’t help it,” he replied, but immediately regretted his words as the scientist was smart enough to take notes. Ness wondered if he could take the opportunity to dip, but even from his position he could tell that Porky had all four floors heavily guarded. It was clear there was enough trust to unhook the cuffs, but not enough that scheming wouldn’t be happening in the background. Oh well, he might as well have some fun while he’s here, it was a long trip to the training arena regardless. 

“Let’s see,” said Ness, already feeling the eyeroll. “You’re a thirty eight year old man with nothing to live for right? Caught wind of this new science in the field and you hope to make your mark, but little did you know you’d be experimenting with kids who have no say in the matter and you’re working for a pig.”

The man stopped dead in his tracks, turned towards Ness who now wore a smirk, hand folded in his pockets. The man looked embarrassed, but continued to take notes. 

“Hilarious,” said the scientist. “A kindergartner could put two and two together please I know you can do better.”

“Oh, I was going easy on you,” said Ness. “I mean I guess Porky shouldn’t know about the plastic doll you have of your-” Ness was quickly shussed before the sentence could be completed, he fought back a laugh. The scientist cursed at Ness from underneath his breath. “-well you asked if I could do better!”

“If I had my taser on me I’d use it on you,” said the scientist, “But you have given me enough data for my next report. Thank you for your services.” 

Ness only shrugged as a reply. 

The training room was a long walk and an elevator ride away, but along the way Ness took several opportunities to troll the members on the floor. He could read the thoughts and feelings of others, and was gifted enough to see several steps ahead because of it. These were abilities he always had, maybe even before he was captured, a time of which Ness had no memory of. To an extent the lab was all he knew, and lab life was all he could recall. Ness had no clue of his origins or even when his abilities became prevalent. He had vague memories of having a childhood, but they weren’t enough for anything of credible value. His past was nothing but flashing distorted colors, and that was about it. 

Ness had grown used to not knowing, and as a result it was easier to accept his current conditions. Yes he had the urge to escape, but the reasoning wasn’t clear. Was it just to be a troll? What aspects of freedom was he chasing that he didn’t already have? At least here he had a roof over his head, and at the very least he was given food on a regular basis. It wasn’t cheap food either, actual hot meals made by chief’s. He even had clothes and a place to sleep. As far as he knew, there was no world outside of New Pork City. 

Though there were down sides, the only social interaction Ness had was between Porky, the Pigmasks and the scientist. He knew new faces wandered out and about the building, but they did not last. Even in the lunchroom Ness sat by himself, careful not to get attached. Sometimes it was hard to eat knowing not a single kid in that lunchroom lacked a single drop of psychic energy, more blood on Porky’s hands.

He had a feeling that today might be different, the same amount of pain returned as Ness reached the training area. He tried not to show it, but he also had a feeling that whatever was inserted monitored the activity in his brain, not what he was feeling. Either way, Ness was forced to enter the training arena Porky’s fat face gleaming with a snarky pride from overhead. He was alone, but he knew the person was just around the corner, probably being held down and against their will.

“Hello there Ness,” Porky’s voice boomed from overhead. “You can fight the pain all you want, but the activity in your brain tells me we have found another valuable subject, exciting, is it?”

This wasn’t good, the more information Porky collected, the closer he was to solving the riddle. Ultimately what that meant, Ness wasn’t quite sure, but that could mean one of two things; Porky could finally harvest the PSI and become unstoppable, becoming the master of time, and yes even space. Part two, which is probably the less severe outcome, Ness could very well lose his life if the puzzle is solved. His heart nearly stopped when Porky figured out half the riddle, the other wasn't obvious. If he figured out the PSI not only came from the mind, but also the soul…

Chills went down his spine at the thought.

“Today you will train with them,” said Porky, “Last night I mentioned a procedure without giving too much detail, well since I’m feeling nice, I guess I can tell you what was done.” 

A wide, greezy smile appeared on his face.

“A chip was inserted into your brain to monitor activity, with it we can pick up psychic energy through you. It turns out, you all attract each other like magnets. This morning Ness your brain waves were more active than usual. That’s how we knew we scored a catch, this will make our lives so much easier.”

Ness winced as the pain grew shaper, he had a hunch that it was a chip. 

“Oh, we apologize about the pain,” Porky smirked, “That should wear off in a number of weeks, I could have waited until you fully recovered, but I was eager to test the technology. Men, if you could bring out our latest test subject?”

The wide double doors swung open, two scientists stood behind a girl that Ness did not recognize. In the same breath however, the aurora around held a strange familiarity. Even from here Ness could tell she was taller than him, blond and also wore solid colored clothing akin to his own. She was fighting to break free, and eventually, they let her go. The moment she was free however, the girl attempted to dart out of the arena, only to be stopped by an invisible wall. Ness winced as she fell and hit the floor hard, the scientists glaring on the other side. 

“Begin,” Porky said, closing the glass windows and doors and the arena became a clear white box, leaving the two to their lonesome. 


End file.
